Bharat Rakshak

by Jujhar
So, arr we baack in Hockey like olden golden Dins?.

A messiah

Even assuming his role in India winning the inaugural Asian Champions Trophy at Ordos was an aberration, the task achieved in New Delhi in charting the route to London makes Nobbs a messiah.

Professional to the core, his grasp of Indian hockey, including the endemic politics and endless polemics, is phenomenal.

Thrown into the job amidst administrative chaos, the Aussie succeeded in zeroing in on fresh talent, endeavoured to sift and shuffle the skilful seniors, marshalled his facts realistically to make the selectors agree to his logic in picking the squad.

How did Nobbs manage a transformation within months? The same nucleus remains. Yet there is a noticeable vibrancy in the attack not witnessed in recent years. The goals netted testify this.

Trapping has also shown marked improvement. One-touch passes, a rarity these days, have come back. The renowned Indian artistry has acquired new polish. A conscious effort seems to have been made to curtail needless dribbling and running. Every move looked measured, meaningful and result oriented.

Physical trainer David John deserves a special salute for elevating the fitness level of players. That was very visible throughout.

The reward for a coach comes from the response of his wards. In this case, everyone was magnificent. Sardar Singh, who received special attention from former Indian centre-half Riaz, one of the coaching crew, is now reckoned as world class.

Outstanding

Sunil was outstanding with his sinuous runs and breath-taking centres. The seasoned Tushar Khandker and Shivendra Singh shone in their approach work, with support from Danish Mujtaba, Sarvanjit and Gurinder Chandi.

The contribution from youngsters Uthappa and Kothajit Singh in the mid-field needs appreciation. Admittedly, a wee bit of sting was lost in the attack due to injury to the hugely talented Yuvaraj Walmiki.

In the halo surrounding Sandeep, Sardar and Sunil, the performance of Sreejesh, especially in the final, cannot be masked. He weathered the storm of the French attack heroically, albeit for a brief period, in the second half.

Nobbs's job is not any easier when it comes to strengthening the defence. None knows it more than he that competition in the Olympics is vastly different.

The players should be made aware that Australia, Germany, Great Britain and the Netherlands do not allow so much space on the field as happened in Delhi. The essence lies in speed and coordination for creating space in a split second to slip through.

For all the fluency displayed, India frittered away several chances. If catalogued they might be substantial.

The outcome, therefore, was not without its negative factors. Nobbs and his crew of Riaz and Lobo have a lot to do.

A former Mr. Universe who has just turned 100 said Sunday that happiness and a life without tensions are the key to his longevity.

Manohar Aich, who is 4 foot 11 inches (150 centimeters) tall, overcame many hurdles, including grinding poverty and a stint in prison, to achieve body building glory.
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Shiva Thapa (56kg) became the youngest Indian boxer to make the cut for the Olympics [ Images ] by reaching the final, even as the already-qualified Vijender Singh [ Images ] (75kg) bowed out after losing in the last four stage of the Asian Qualifiers' in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday

Four Indian boxers -- L Devendro Singh (49kg), Jai Bhagwan (60kg), Manoj Kumar (64kg) and Vikas Krishan (69kg) -- booked Olympic berths in last year's World Championships.

In another disappointing result for India [ Images ], Asian Games silver-medallist Manpreet Singh (91kg) failed to qualify for the Olympics after losing 13-6 in the semi-finals to Iran's Ali Mazaheri.

Manpreet needed to win a gold to make the London cut.

Boxing gradually becoming India’s top Olympic sport
Published: Sunday, Apr 15, 2012, 10:30 IST
By Mihir Vasavda | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

The thing that strikes you most about this young, new generation of Indian pugilists is that they make boxing sound so simple. It’s as if they are obliged not just to outpunch their opponents, but also drain them psychologically — showing the killer instinct that Indian sportspersons seldom do.

It is this aggression and fearlessness shown by the four London-bound teenagers — Shiva Thapa, Sumit Sangwan, Vikas Krishan and Devendro Singh — that has won them many admirers. The quartet forms the core of the seven-member Indian boxing contingent for the Olympics, with the 26-year-old Beijing Games bronze-medallist Vijender Singh being the senior most in the squad.

The stunning success story of these boxers underlines what has been felt by many for a couple of years now. While all the focus post Beijing Games has mainly been on Vijender, Indian boxing as a whole has undergone a silent revolution. Gradually, boxing is becoming the country’s top Olympic sport — in terms of the number of high-quality pugilists that have been produced as well as the medal prospects that have emerged. This was asserted during the Asian Games two years ago. They returned with a rich haul of two gold and three silver medals, their best ever Asiad performance. It came on the back of a poor show by the shooters, who were expected to do well but managed only one medal.

The success of the boxers hasn’t happened overnight, neither was a stroke of luck involved. In fact, it began much before the Beijing Olympics. In 2006, under the chief coach Gurbax Singh Sandhu, the entire coaching system was overhauled. He and his eight-member support staff ensured each boxer at the NIS Patiala received individual training while top talents across the country were being scouted by the other coaches. “It’s a regimental training,” Sandhu says. “I haven’t taken a day off since 2006. The boys are entitled for free time on Wednesday and Saturday evenings, but there are a few who turn up for training. It’s because of a co-ordinated effort that we have been able to produce very good boxers.”

Post Beijing, Sandhu adds, it was necessary to cash in on the momentum and their hunt for talented youngsters became vigorous. The coaches started visiting more and more junior tournaments across the country and thus were spotted the four youngsters. Devendro, Vikas and Shiva were spotted only two years ago and it has been only a year that Sumit has been in the national reckoning. Each of them comes from different backgrounds; with financial difficulty being the only common factor binding all of them. That was until they met at a national camp in Patiala two years ago and set out to achieve a common goal — an Olympic medal.

Devendro and Vikas stormed into limelight with sensational displays during the World Championships in Baku (Azerbaijan), where they booked their Olympic berths. With their exploits at the recently-concluded Asian Olympic qualifiers, Shiva and Sumit have made everyone sit up and notice them as well. It’s not the plain aggressiveness that makes them special. They come across as very brainy individuals as well. Vikas likens boxing to chess, a sport he prefers when he is not in the ring. “We cannot ignore the psychological aspect involved in boxing. You can win or lose a bout if you do not read your opponent’s moves,” says the 19-year-old.

Eighteen-year-old Shiva, the youngest Indian boxer to qualify for the Olympics, has always been a keen learner according to his father Padam Thapa. “Shiva is a very cool customer even in crisis and he is a very keen observer. Whenever he is in a competition, he tries to watch each and every bout and thinks about the possible situations he could be in,” Thapa says.

In terms of the number of boxers who have qualified for the Olympics, India is right up there with the who’s who of world boxing. Whether they can convert their good performances so far into medal winning feats is something that no one is willing to predict at the moment. But while all eyes will continue to be on Vijender’s performance in London, it will be mighty interesting to see how well these teenagers perform.

http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_bo ... rt_1676073

Indian hockey team's chief coach Michael Nobbs said that it was surprising that the standard of Indian hockey had fallen over the years despite players having the requisite talent and skill.

Nobbs is in the city with the Indian hockey team which is training for the London Olympics at a camp at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mhalunge-Balewadi. "If you give me more than a hundred players to train, India will be the best team on the planet within two years," the Australian said. He said that the fall in standards over the years was purely due to "self-destruction".

by ManjaM
I find it ironic that "the land of the mahatma" produces top quality boxers, archers, shooters and wrestlers. All the above mentioned are only sports for Saffronists and RSSwalas.

The Super Fight League, or SFL, is an Indian mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion.[1] The organization was formed in late 2011 by Sanjay Dutt and Raj Kundra.[2] The SFL is the first MMA promotion based in India. SFL events can be watched on Colors in India[3] and on YouTube live worldwide due to a 3 year contract between the promotion and the website.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Fight_League